Cementation slurries for improvedly encasing reinforcing elements therefor

ABSTRACT

Cementation slurries well suited for encasing reinforcing elements therefor, for example prestressed steel cable, while reducing the risk of embrittlement thereof, contain from about 1.5% to 3% by weight of homogenizing and exudation-reducing hydrophilic particulates (e.g., precipitated silica particles) that are inert in respect of liquids, have a specific surface area of greater than about 200 m2/g and which are fragmentable during mixing and/or injection into multiple fragments having particle sizes ranging from about 5 to 300 nanometers.

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/407,628, nowU.S. Pat. No. 5,814,145, filed Mar. 21, 1995.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to water- and cement-based cementationslurries which are injected to encase reinforcing means therefor, inparticular to encase prestressed steel cables, frames, braces, trusses,and the like.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Satisfactorily encasing a prestressed steel armature, whether cable,frame, brace, truss, rod, wire, etc., is known to this art as being moredifficult, the longer the encasing required. This length can be as muchas 10 to 15 meters for a vertical cable, and several hundreds of metersfor a longitudinal cable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a major object of the present invention is the provision ofnovel cementation slurries for improvedly encasing a wide variety ofreinforcing means/elements therefor.

Another object of this invention is the provision of improvedcementation slurries which do not exude from settable consolidations orshaped structural units comprised thereof.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of improvedreinforced cement/concrete structural units, the embrittlement of thereinforcing means encased therein, e.g., steel cables, wires, braces,trusses, etc., being markedly reduced.

Briefly, the present invention features easy-to-use, reduced-exudationcementation slurries comprising 1.5% to 3% by weight (with respect tothe total weight of the cement composition) of hydrophilic particulateswhich are inert vis-a-vis the liquid constituents thereof, having aspecific surface area of more than about 200 m² /g and which isdivisible during mixing and/or injection into a plurality or multitudeof fragments having particle sizes which can be as low as 5 nanometersand as high as 300 nanometers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The FIGURE of Drawing is a cross-sectional front view of two injectiontubes, one containing a cementation slurry according to the inventionand the other a conventional cementation slurry, as well as reinforcingmeans therefor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF BEST MODE AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THEINVENTION

More particularly according to the present invention, hydrophilicparticles having a specific surface area ranging from 210 to 300 m² /g,for example, are well suited for attaining the aforesaid objectives.

By the term "specific surface area" is intended the BET specific surfacearea, determined by the Brunauer-Emmet-Teller technique described in TheJournal of the American Chemical Society, vol. 60, p. 309 (February1938) and corresponding to ISO standard 5794/1.

Particles having an average dimension before fragmentation of less than20 micrometers, preferably less than 15 micrometer, more preferablyranging from 0.3 to 1.5 micrometer and typically on the order of 0.5micrometer, are preferably employed.

The preferred materials having the above characteristics are siliceousmaterials, typically an additive constituted by precipitated silicaparticles.

By the term "precipitated silica" is intended a silica obtained byprecipitation via the reaction of an alkaline silicate with an acid,generally an inorganic acid, at a pH suitable for the medium ofprecipitation, in particular a basic, neutral or slightly acidic pH. Anysuitable method for preparing the silica can be employed (adding acid toa silicate starting material, simultaneous total or partial addition ofacid and silicate to an aqueous medium or to a silicate startingsolution, etc.) and is selected as a function of the type of silicarequired, using known techniques.

The precipitated silica can be utilized in the form of a (dry) powderor, optionally, as an aqueous suspension (or slurry).

FR-A-2,621,036 describes the incorporation of silica into a cementationslurry to provide certain advantages. However, this patent relates tosilica grains having significantly different physicochemical propertiesvis-a-vis the particles of precipitated silica suitable for useaccording to the present invention.

The hydrophilic particulates formulated into the compositions of thepresent invention are added to a cement slurry, the composition of whichcan be conventional. The proportions of hydrophilic particulatesrelative to the weight of the cement is not critical, except thatparticularly striking results are obtained when a proportion of 2 to 3kg of precipitated silica per 100 kg of cement is observed.

Other than the hydrophilic particulates of the invention, thecementation slurry will normally contain other conventional additives,such as a setting-retardant, a liquefier, and the like.

In order to further illustrate the present invention and the advantagesthereof, the following specific example is given, it being understoodthat same is intended only as illustrative and in nowise limitative.

In said example to follow, the apparatus/system shown in theaccompanying FIGURE of Drawing was employed, illustrating two injectiontubes respectively containing a cementation slurry according to theinvention and a conventional cementation slurry, as well as therespective reinforcements therefor.

EXAMPLE

A cementation slurry was prepared by mixing the following constituentsaccording to the indicated procedure:

4.9 liters of a fluidizing agent ("Melmentplast 40" marketed by SKW) and1.6 liters of a setting-retardant ("Melretard" marketed by SKW) wereadded to 43 liters of water.

Intimate mixing of this formulation was carried out in the mixing zoneof an injection machine (VSL mixer).

150 kg of cement (CPA HP PM du Havre marketed by Ciments Lafarge) and3.75 kg of precipitated silica (Tixosil T331 marketed by Rhone-Poulenc)having a specific surface area of about 250 m² /g, were added to theliquid fraction.

After three minutes of mixing, the cementation slurry had the followingcharacteristics:

                  TABLE    ______________________________________                           STATUTORY              MEASURED     SPECIFICATIONS              CHARACTERISTICS                           (France)    ______________________________________    Fluidity    Time T = 0 h, 12 s    (Marsh cone T = 1 h, 13 s    .O slashed. 10 mm at 20° C.)                T = 3 h, 16 s                T = 6 h, 20 s  <24 s    Exudation   at 3 hours 0%  <2%    Shrinkage   at 28 days     <3,000 × 10.sup.-6 m/m                2,160 × 10.sup.-6 m/m    Mechanical  at 28 days,    >30 MPa    strength    compression:    (measured using                95 MPa    prisms      at 28 days,    4 × 4 × 16 cm)                bending:        >4 MPa                7 MPa    ______________________________________

The mixture of this Example remained liquid for 30 hours: depending onthe particular application, this period of time can be modified byaltering the amount of retardant, particularly when injecting aboutprestressed cables when their length is a factor.

The cementation slurry containing the precipitated silica settled outvirtually not at all and encased the prestressed cable anchorages verywell, whereas a conventional cementation slurry required a difficultrepeat injection.

Referring specifically to the accompanying FIGURE of Drawing, thecementation slurry was injected at a pressure of 5 bars into the base ofa transparent vertical tube 1, 4.5 m in length, containing reinforcingsteel coils 2 and anchoring means 3 for the coils at the atop of thetube. A conventional commercial cementation slurry was injected into anidentical tube 1'. The tubes were compared after a number of hours.

Encasing defects M were observed 7 cm below the anchoring means and 17cm above the anchoring means in the conventional cementation slurry, inthe zones where optimum encasement was especially necessary, while theencasement had only a minimal defect (at 1 cm) at a distance from theanchoring means.

Twenty meter high prestressed cables were encased on site and confirmedthe laboratory tests: the cementation slurry remained homogeneous duringinjection of the slurry and settled but very slightly subsequently,contrary to the ready-made commercial product produced for the site,which was already washed out at the top of the cable at the point intime of injection, necessitating supplemental injection for severalcables.

It will be appreciated that, compared with the silica ash whose use isdescribed above, precipitated silica presents the following particularadvantages:

(a) precipitated silica can fix water better and can thus verysubstantially reduce exudation which is one of the principal problemswhen injecting around cables;

(b) the absence of free silicon in precipitated silica connotes that nonascent hydrogen is produced;

(c) for the same performance (settling and exudation), the amount ofprecipitated silica required is substantially lower than the amount ofsilica ash which would be required;

(d) since a wide range of precipitated silicas is available, it ispossible to select the most suitable precipitated silica to provide thedesired fluidity and thixotropy. This is not possible when using silicaash, as it is only available as a byproduct.

While the invention has been described in terms of various preferredembodiments, the skilled artisan will appreciate that variousmodifications, substitutions, omissions, and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof. Accordingly, it is intended that thescope of the present invention be limited solely by the scope of thefollowing claims, including equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A structural unit comprising a reinforcingelement encased within a cement prepared from an aqueous cementationslurry, which cementation slurry comprises a cementation composition ofmatter containing a cement matrix and adapted for encasing a reinforcingelement therefor while reducing the risk of embrittlement thereof, theimprovement which comprises in said cementitious composition of matter,from about 1.5% to 3% by weight of a homogenizing and exudation-reducingagent, said homogenizing and exudation-reducing agent comprisinghydrophilic particulates that are inert in respect of liquids, have aspecific surface area of greater than about 200 m² /g and which arefragmentable during mixing and/or injection into multiple fragmentshaving particle sizes ranging from about 5 to 300 nanometers.
 2. Thestructural unit as defined by claim 1, said hydrophilic particulateshaving an average particle size ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 micrometers. 3.The structural unit as defined by claim 1, said reinforcing elementcomprising a prestressed steel reinforcement.
 4. The structural unit asdefined by claim 2, said cementitious composition comprising from about2 to 3 kg of precipitated silica particles per 100 kg of cement.
 5. Thestructural unit as defined by claim 1, said hydrophilic particulateshaving an average particle size of less than 20 micrometers.
 6. Thestructural unit as defined by claim 5, said hydrophilic particulateshaving an average particle size of less than 15 micrometers.
 7. Thestructural unit as defined by claim 6, said hydrophilic particulateshaving an average particle size ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 micrometers. 8.The structural unit as defined by claim 1, said cementitious compositioncomprising a setting-retardant, a liquefying agent, or mixture thereof.9. A structural unit comprising a reinforcing element encased within acement prepared from an aqueous cementation slurry, which cementationslurry comprises a cementitious composition of matter containing acement matrix for use in encasing a reinforcing element therefor whilereducing the risk of embrittlement thereof, the improvement whichcomprises from about 1.5% to 3% by weight of precipitated silicaparticles having an average size ranging from 0.3 to less than 20micrometers which have a specific surface area of greater than about 200m² /g and which are fragmentable during mixing and/or injection intomultiple fragments having particle sizes ranging from about 5 to 300nanometers.